Two men held in Germany over suspected bomb plot

08/09/11 14:34 CET

world news

| |

German police have arrested two men of Middle Eastern origin, suspected of buying chemicals for a bomb attack.

Officers searched an Islamic cultural centre and two addresses in Berlin after an investigation lasting several months.

The centre itself is not under suspicion but the pair are thought to have spent time there. They have been identified as a 24-year-old German-Lebanese man and a 28-year-old from the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

Germany has been spared a major terrorist incident but security was stepped up last November after intelligence reports of a heightened threat. The latest arrests come ahead of a visit by the Pope and the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

More about: Arrest, Berlin, Germany, Terrorism

| |

Mali: Rebel groups agree to creation of Islamic state

Two Rebel groups have agreed to merge and create an independent Islamic state in Northern Mali. After seizing Azawad – an area larger than France – two months ago, the groups had initially disagreed, with the secular Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA)…